'Nothing wrong in co-opting citizens to draft bill'

There nothing wrong in co-opting five eminent Indian citizens in drafting the Jan Lok Pal Bill, Fali Nariman, eminent constitutional expert and former member of Rajya Sabha, has said.

Talking to rediff.com, however, Nariman made it clear that this does not mean the government should have people from outside to draft a bill every time.

"I am with social activist Anna Hazare in his fight against corruption. He is reacting to an emergent situation -- particularly the kind of loss incurred by the government -- in the 2G spectrum scam," said Nairman.

He said, "I don't know the names of five persons, who are on Hazare's panel."

People such as Arun Kejriwal and former law minister Shanti Bhushan should be among the list of five persons.

"There is no harm in the government drafting a Lok Pal Bill. Remember that the bill has to go through Parliament, and it has to be passed there so that it can become a law. The bill may or may not get passed," he added.

When asked about Hazare's insistance on talking to either Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Nariman said that it does not matter who holds the talks with the agitators because the concerned mediator will do so under directive from both PM and Sonia.

"There have been some cases where a private member's bill in Rajya Sabha was picked up by the government and later introduced in Parliament. I support Hazare in his unique Gandhian way for raising the issue. It has which has appealed to the masses who are fed up of the rising corruption," he said.